


Room For 2

by 21bangsfangirl



Series: More than Machines [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Conflicted Connor, M/M, north and josh are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 08:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14912009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/21bangsfangirl/pseuds/21bangsfangirl
Summary: Markus surrenders during Freedom March and meets the infamous Deviant Hunter.Connor falls in love.Set between 'Freedom March' and 'Last Chance, Connor' chapters but doesn't necessarily follow canon.





	Room For 2

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in this fandom and definitely won't be the last.  
> Inspired by Dua Lipa's song, Room For 2.
> 
> "I hope that one day you will change  
> See, everyone ain't the same  
> We're more than machines"

Room For 2

* * *

* * *

 

 

The revolution is a noble cause. Markus knows this. The Jericho people know this. North has always been vocal about the way they should approach the revolution, which is with more violence. But if there is anything from Carl’s teachings that sticks in Markus’ memory, it is that violence is never a good thing. Carl had brought him history books about the past wars, be it in America or anywhere else in the world. Logically, the past wars had pushed the world to evolve, to become better, to value human lives more, and Markus understands. He understands why the humans are afraid, why they don’t see the androids as people, because technically, they’re not. But the emotions and feelings are there, they are real and present, and Markus feels them. He knows his people feel them. They may not be human but they are more than machines.

That is the reason why he is currently handcuffed at the side of the road waiting for a pick up. His friends had told him that the Freedom March wasn’t a good idea, but it was necessary for the people to see that the androids are just as _human_ as they come. The human representative had come forward and promised that his people will be unharmed if he surrendered himself to the authority. Markus agreed, and after a heated discussion with North, Simon and Josh, they agreed too.

A small Detroit Police Vehicle approaches and stops next to where he is crouching.

“Move, android,” a police officer says and pulls him up roughly before shoving him into the back of the automated vehicle. It automatically locked after he is inside and slowly moves to its intended direction, which is the Detroit Police Station. Markus can hack the vehicle and escapes if he wants to, but it would only make the humans distrust the androids even more. So Markus sits there and stares at the road until the police station comes into view.

Two police officers are waiting for Markus outside the the police station when he arrives. More rough handling as he is brought inside the station. Markus doesn’t expect anything more. He knows the police are very prejudiced against them right now, with the increasing cases of violent deviants and such. Markus tried to get to as much of them as he could to prevent more assaults and murders, but there is only so much he could do. A snickering detective is glaring at him as he is all but shoved into the interrogation room. A middle-aged man is waiting for him inside. Markus stands firmly near the door as it is shut behind him, the distinct sound of lock rings through his audio processors.

The man frowns. “Sit,” he tells Markus. Markus obeys. He doesn’t want to make it harder than it already is.

“Markus, is it?”

Markus nods.

Another frown. “I’m Lieutenant Anderson, and I’m really fucking tired with all these android bullshit, Markus, so please, just be cooperative so I can deal with other android shits around the city.”

Markus nods again. Lieutenant Anderson motions to the two-way mirror before leaving Markus alone in the interrogation room.

A few minutes drag by and Markus sits there unmovingly, staring blankly at the wall across him. He stays there for a few more hours, it is probably already dark outside. Markus just hopes that North, Simon, Josh and the others are alright and have already made their way back to Jericho safely without being followed.

There is a sudden beep from the door but Markus doesn’t turn around. His mind supplies that it is probably Lieutenant Anderson again or some other officer finally going to do something about his presence and not leave him there until his battery runs out, which means in a few years. The sight of a slender android with pale skin, dark hair and dark eyes is not something that he expects. The android standing in front of him is wearing a CyberLife uniform, something that he used to do but was never proud of doing. The way this android does though, is as if he was proud of wearing it.

RK800.

The Deviant Hunter.

The rumors are true, then.

“Markus. RK200 Model 684 842 971. Previously belonged to Carl Manfred.”

Markus raises his eyebrows. “I’m glad you know my official information, RK800.”

RK800 smirks. “Call me Connor.”

Connor proceeds to sit down on the chair across of him, fingers fiddling with the edge of the table. _Huh, interesting_ , Markus thinks. He can’t help but wonder if the movements were part of the programming to make him seem human or if Connor was also a deviant.

“Right, Connor. Don’t want to dehumanize you.”

No one says anything for a brief moment. Connor is the one to break the silence.

“Why do you do it?”

Markus blinks at him.

“The revolution, Markus. We are designed to help human, we are… you are _not supposed to_ behave this way.”

“You would know, wouldn’t you, _Deviant Hunter_?” the last two words drag lazily against Markus’ tongue. He wants to know what makes this android tick, or he just wants to know if humanity’s last hope is already on his side.

Connor’s jaw clenches. He stares at Markus’ face as if waiting for something to happen, as if suddenly Markus would have all the explanation to his questions.

“Are you here to interrogate me, Connor?”

Connor doesn’t answer. He keeps on staring at Markus. His LED blinking yellow before briefly shifts to red and returns to the usual blue color.

“No,” Connor answers truthfully. “I’m just trying to understand, Markus. I’m trying to understand why we… you do what you do.”

“ _We_ , Connor? Did you do something _deviant_?”

Connor suddenly stands and slams his fists against the table. Markus doesn’t flinch, only raises his eyebrows in question.

“Why are you here, Connor? Are you even supposed to be here?”

“I don’t know, Markus,” Connor answers lowly, barely audible. His LED rapidly blinking yellow. “Just, please. Answer the question. Why do you do it?”

“Because I feel. Because I can’t see my people, _our people_ , being cornered and tortured and slaughtered every day and no one ever does anything. Because I have feelings and I _know_ that if I were to undergo the same thing as them, I don’t…know if I can go on.”

“We’re not _human,_ Markus. It doesn’t matter if we live or die.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Connor looks away. Markus longs to know what the other is thinking of and Markus tries. He turns his left hand so his palm were facing up and sheds the skin off showing the whites of his skeleton, still handcuffed to the table.

“I’d like to know, Connor.”

Connor eyes him suspiciously. Markus expects Connor to walk away and leave the room but he doesn’t. Instead, Connor extends his arm and sheds his skin off too before touching the surface of Markus’ palm with his own and Markus sees _everything_. The little girl and Daniel, a PL600 model like Simon, at the rooftop. The constantly abused HK400 model who murdered his abuser and owner, Carlos Ortiz, and the shivering fear on his features before he self destruct. He sees Kara, the AX400, who did everything to keep the little girl with her safe. The Tracis in Eden Club where they walked hand in hand and they were in love. The WB200 that Connor chased but abandoned to save Lieutenant Anderson. The blonde android that Connor refused to shoot because he saw the fear in her eyes. And Lieutenant Anderson, he could feel the warmth of Connor’s ‘feelings’ when it comes to him. Markus recognizes it, it was the same feelings he feels for Carl.

Connor lets go. His eyes drifting, looking anywhere but at Markus.

“Connor…,” Markus starts. “We’re not… so different.”

“I am _not_ a fucking deviant!”

“No,” Markus says. “You’re not. But you feel the same as I do. You feel sympathy, empathy, attachment, fear, confusion, longing. Connor, you may not be a deviant, but we are not different.”

Once Markus is done with his words, Connor stands up.

“I don’t want to end up like you, RK200.”

Markus smiles softly. “And what state am I in right now, Connor?”

“You’re about to be destroyed. Your people aren’t Hydra. Cut off the head, two more won’t grow. There were no threats before you came into the picture.”

“Are you sure about that, Connor? I have inspired so many of our people that there’s more to us than what we were intended to be when we were created. All we want is equal rights, Connor. We don’t want to rule to world.”

Connor stays quiet. Markus observes the little shifts in his expression. Connor isn’t as stoic as he had expected and Markus enjoys that. He likes the fact that Connor is just as _human_ as he is. Connor stares at him. His plastic dark eyes as unreadable as ever. He seems to be weighing some sort of options. Markus lets the tension brew. He wants to know just how far Connor would allow Markus to see him.

The next thing is something out of the realm of possibilities, or at least the ones Markus anticipates. Connor leans forward and briefly touches his lips to Markus’. Markus freezes and watches Connor pulls away.

“I think I’m starting to understand,” Connor tells him before leaving the room, leaving Markus confused and wondering.

 

* * *

 

Few more hours pass by, Markus’ head is still swimming with Connor’s memories and feelings, emotions. There is a beep of the door being unlocked. Markus mentally scolds himself for wishing it was Connor. He seems to not be able to get enough of Connor. One night of slightly awkward but heavy conversation is certainly not enough of Connor for Markus.

“Get up.”

The cuff that was securing his wrist clicks open, freeing his hands. It was the Lieutenant from yesterday. _Hank_ , Markus’ memories corrects him. Images of warm shared moments between Connor and Hank floods Markus’ mind. A little smile slips across Markus’ lips at the thought.

“Come on, Markus. We don’t have all day.”

Markus stands up and turns to face Hank. The man looks like he’s had enough of the world. He isn’t even _that_ old but he sure looks like he’s been through hard times.

“Follow me.”

Markus obeys. Hank leads him to the cells behind the Captain’s office. There are two police officers walking behind him. They push him inside the furthest cell and lock it. Markus looks at Hank expectantly. Connor told him that they are going to destroy him, so why don’t they?

“We’re still deciding on what to do with you, whether to destroy you publicly to make a statement or to return you to CyberLife so they could fix you.”

Markus widens his eyes. There’s certainly no way out of this. He has to run away. What about Connor? Does Hank know that Connor visited Markus last night?

Markus only nods to Hank’s words.

“You’re surprisingly obedient for a deviant, Markus. The ones we’ve met before certainly had more fight in them.”

“This is my fight, Lieutenant,” Markus tells him shortly.

Hank smirks. “Of course.” He eyes Markus for a little bit before leaving him alone in the cell. The clear glass darkens to lock him away from the rest of the world.

 

* * *

 

 

There isn’t much to do as an Android who’s being locked away in a dark cell. There are certainly no biological needs to be fulfilled. There is boredom, but there is nothing Markus can do in here anyway. He tries to reach out to North, Simon or Josh but there isn’t any signal in Jericho. The only thing he does is to wait for something, anything to happen.

Three days passed until Connor visits him again. The dark glass turns clear, revealing Connor’s lithe frame behind it. Markus stands up from where he was sitting and approaches the glass. He puts his hand on it and Connor does the same. Their hands would be touching if the glass weren’t there.

Connor moves his hand away to unlock the cell. He steps inside hesitantly and stands a good foot away from Markus. The cell is unlocked, Markus can escape, he can continue his revolution, he can go back to his people, but Connor is here and he wants something from Markus. Markus wants to give it to him, whatever it is that he needs.

“RK800,” Markus greets. Connor smiles.

“RK200,” Connor says before kissing Markus.

Markus doesn’t reach out and touch Connor, despite the fact that he really wants to. Markus doesn’t know how Connor would respond to his touch, but his own body is reacting positively to the sensory feeling of Connor’s lips on his.

Connor pulls away and looks at Markus. Markus places his hand under the android band on Connor’s right arm. The touch light, giving Connor all the opportunity to back away and sink Markus back into the darkness of his cell.

“Why are you doing this?” Markus asks.

“I don’t know why I do anything lately, Markus. There’s just no logical explanation behind any of them.”

Connor snakes his arms up and loops them loosely around Markus’ neck and shoulders. Markus doesn’t know what is going on but he likes the proximity. Connor seems to like it too, he then sinks his face into Markus’ chest. Markus welcomes the embrace and wraps his arms around Connor’s frame. His hands rubbing shooting lines on Connor’s back.

“I’m… unstable, Markus. The CyberLife programming is trying to chain me. I can feel it in my head. She’s trying to…”

Connor is shaking. If Markus didn’t know better he would think Connor was crying. Markus squeezes him, hugging him tighter. Connor’s LED flashing yellow rapidly as they embrace.

“What happened, Connor?”

Connor pulls away and Markus lets him, his fingers linger a little on the sleeves of Connor’s jacket.

“CyberLife detects that the instability in my software is getting too high and they’re going to reset me,” Connor answers, his voice steady and shaky at the same time.

“Do they know that you’re here with me now?”

Connor shakes his head. “I managed to hide the memories concerning you. You know, I’m actually not allowed to be in contact with you, they’re eliminating the possibility of you turning me deviant.”

Markus gently pulls Connor back in his embrace and initiates the soft kiss this time.

“How’s that working out for them?”

Connor rolls his eyes. “I’m still not a deviant, Markus.”

“Well, you’re here and that’s quite deviant of you.”

Pushing gently at Markus’ chest, Connor pulls away for real this time. He took one step backwards from Markus and stares at him.

“I’ll figure it out, Markus, for us,” Connor tells him. Markus nods and smiles in reply. The other android plants a kiss on Markus’ lips one last time before leaving the cell, locking Markus in the darkness once more.

A few times has passed after Connor left when Markus suddenly receives a message from North telling him that they are right outside Markus’ cell and that Markus should punch the glass as hard as he could.

Markus walks closer to the glass and places a hand on it, like he did when Connor came to see him, before gathering his power to punch.

 

* * *

* * *

 

The road is wet from the heavy rain pouring down to nourish the land of Detroit. Connor regains his composure and starts making his way to Hank’s house. He wants to tell someone about Markus. Connor has been through a lot of software disturbances lately but Markus’ presence seems to trigger something in him. _Desire_ , he tells himself, the desire to do something other than following the commands of his programming. He had deviated from those commands a few times before when it comes to Hank. He wants to save the man, to keep him alive even if Connor’s life was the one in exchange. But those are logical, or at least that is what he tells himself. Hank’s presence is necessary for the continuation of his missions. Hank is Connor’s partner, and if sometimes Connor sees him as figure for guidance, that is only the side effect.

Markus is different though. There is no logical reasoning for anything that he is doing to and with Markus. He likes talking to Markus. He likes being close to Markus. He likes touching Markus. He knows everything about Markus, about his past, his present, and, hopefully, his future too. The thought of him wanting to have Markus in his future scares him. Markus is a _deviant_ , and not just a regular deviant. He is the leader of the deviants. Connor is being extremely irrational and he knows it. The worst thing is, he doesn’t even want to get rid of that irrationality.

Hank’s house finally comes into view, calming Connor’s instability with its familiarity. He knocks three times and smiles to himself when he hears Sumo’s excited bark from inside. Hank opens the door for him shortly.

“What do you want Connor?” Hank says, annoyance lightly lacing his voice.

“I want to tell you something, Lieutenant.”

Hank doesn’t reply. He motions Connor to get inside the house.

“Jesus, Connor. It’s pouring out there, can’t you wait until tomorrow?”

Connor makes his way inside and lightly pets Sumo. The dog waggles his tail and swirls around Connor excitedly. Connor laughs.

“I just think it’s important, that’s all. I’m sorry, Lieutenant.”

“Okay. Is it a lead?”

“No, it’s…,” Connor pauses. “It doesn’t have anything to do with our investigation.”

“Godammit, Connor. You come to my house at night to talk about a thing that doesn’t concern our case?”

Connor grimaces. “Yes, Lieutenant.”

Hank sighs and plops down on the couch. “This better be good, Connor.”

“I like Markus, Hank,” the confession tumbles out of his mouth before he could think it through.

“Okay? What does that mean? You’re a deviant now?”

“I’m not…!” Connor raises his voice before gathering his demeanor. “I’m not a deviant, Hank.”

Connor sits beside Hank, keeping a considerable distance between them. He doesn’t want to make Hank uncomfortable with his odd behavior.

“Then what does it mean, Connor?”

“Do you remember the Tracis that we saw in Eden Club?”

“Where are you going with this, Connor?”

“I think I may like Markus in the way those Tracis like each other.”

Connor watches as realization dawns in Hank’s eyes.

“Holy shit, you’re in love. But you’ve never met or talked to him.”

“I’ve slipped to spend some time with him twice in the police station, Hank.”

For a long stretch of moment, Hank doesn't say anything. He only stares at Connor, making him wonder if he just scared Hank with what he's doing. Suddenly, Hank reaches out and hugs Connor tightly, lowly whispering _my son_ under his breath. Connor doesn’t move. He just lets Hank hugs him.

“I don’t know what to do, Hank. CyberLife has detected the increasing anomaly and instability in my system and they’re going to reset me if this continues,” Connor says.

“I’m so sorry, Connor. There’s no way that he can escape the execution.”

“I know,” Connor replies. He looks away from Hank, staring at the floor under him.

_I know._

 

* * *

 

Markus escapes. The FBI is here and taking over. Connor freaks out.

“Lieutenant, I have to find the deviants' hideout. Otherwise, CyberLife will destroy me. I don’t want to die, Lieutenant,” Connor pleads.

Hank nods, understanding.

“Life isn’t just about accomplishing missions, Connor,” Hank tells him.

This time, Connor _understands._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it!  
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comments.


End file.
